JP2012084542A - Projection apparatus and projection method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a projection apparatus and a projection method which efficiently drive a plurality of light-emitting elements to attain high picture quality of projected images and long life of all of the light-emitting elements.SOLUTION: A projection apparatus comprises: an LED array 17, having a plurality of n light-emitting elements (n is a natural number of 2 or more) and a W driver 23; and a projection light processing section 24 for driving each of n LED groups, that constitute the LED array 17, to emit light by a pulse width modulation system with phase difference based on λ/n (λ is a lighting period unit) in synchronization with a lighting period unit, and the W driver 23.

Description

  The present invention relates to a projection device and a projection method having a light source device and a light source control method suitable for, for example, a data projector device.

Conventionally, in a projection device using a light emitting diode (LED) as a light source, it is possible to individually control lighting, dimming, and temperature of each of the R, G, and B light emitting diodes, and display on an image display unit There has been considered a technique that can adjust and maintain the brightness and luminous efficiency of the screen appropriately and smoothly, and easily achieve reduction of power consumption. (For example, Patent Document 1)
In order to perform light control of the light emitting diode as a light source, including the techniques described in the above-mentioned patent documents, a method of adjusting the light emission time and a method of adjusting the light emission intensity can be considered.

  However, when adjusting the light emission time of the light source, image display on a light modulation element such as a liquid crystal display panel or DMD (Digital Micromirror Device) (registered trademark) that forms a projection image in accordance with the adjusted light emission time. The time must be adjusted, and particularly when halftone display is performed, the control becomes very complicated and is not realistic.

  Further, as a method for adjusting the light emission intensity, for example, it is conceivable to control a current value flowing through each light emitting diode.

  FIG. 9 shows a white light emitting diode group using a color wheel as a light source, 80% of the rating when projecting a red (R) image, 100% as rated when projecting a green (G) image, and rated when projecting a blue (B) image. This is an example of a case where light control is performed so that the luminance is 60%.

  In FIG. 9, FIG. 9A shows the projection timing for each color image, and FIG. 9B shows the light emission luminance of the white light emitting diode group. FIG. 9C to FIG. 9E show the driving contents of the light emitting diode group for each color image. Here, in order to simplify the explanation, it is assumed that the light emitting diode group is composed of a total of five light emitting diodes w1 to w5.

  As shown in FIG. 9C to FIG. 9E, the brightness of 80%, 100%, and 60% of the rated value is projected during each projection of a red (R) image, a green (G) image, and a blue (B) image. The drive current value supplied to each of the light emitting diodes w1 to w5 is adjusted so that Since each of the light emitting diodes w1 to w5 is driven to emit light with the same drive current value, the number of diodes that are turned on simultaneously is always “5”.

  When the drive current value is adjusted in an analog manner in this way, the response time from the previous state to the next desired light emission luminance decreases as the current value is suppressed so that the luminance is particularly low.

  For example, in FIG. 9B as well, there is no particular problem when the light emission luminance shifts from 80% to 100%. On the other hand, when the light emission luminance changes from 60% to 80%, and from 100% to 60%. In either case, the response is delayed, and as a result, accurate gradation display is hindered.

JP 2005-181528 A

  In order to avoid a decrease in response speed based on the adjustment of the drive current, a method of controlling the number of light emitting diodes that emit light with 100% luminance instead of adjusting the drive current of each light emitting diode can be considered.

  FIG. 10 shows a white light emitting diode group that uses a color wheel together as a light source, 80% of the rating when projecting a red (R) image, 100% as rated when projecting a green (G) image, and rated when projecting a blue (B) image. This is an example of the case where light control is performed by the number of emitted light so that the luminance is 60%.

  10A shows the projection timing for each color image, and FIG. 10B shows the light emission luminance of the white light emitting diode group. FIG. 10C to FIG. 10E show the driving contents of the light emitting diode group for each color image. Here again, it is assumed that the light emitting diode group is composed of a total of five light emitting diodes w1 to w5.

  As shown in FIG. 10C to FIG. 10E, the brightness of 80%, 100%, and 60% of the rated value is projected during each projection of a red (R) image, a green (G) image, and a blue (B) image. The number of light-emitting diodes w1 to w5 is adjusted so that

  In FIG. 10C, four of the five light emitting diodes w1 to w5 and w1 to w4 are driven to emit light with the rated luminance of 100% while the remaining one is set so that the luminance is 80% as a whole. The w5 is not driven at all.

  In FIG. 10D, all of the five light emitting diodes w1 to w5 are driven to emit light at a rated 100% luminance so that the luminance is 100% as a whole.

  In FIG. 10 (E), three of the five light emitting diodes w1 to w5 and w1 to w3 are driven to emit light at a rated luminance of 100% while the remaining two are set to 60% luminance as a whole. W4 and w5 are not driven at all.

  In this way, when the necessary luminance is obtained by adjusting the number of light emitting elements to be driven to emit light, all the elements that emit light are driven at the rated value, and a sufficient response speed is obtained. Will be obtained.

  On the other hand, the light emission time varies among the plurality of light emitting elements constituting the light source. Therefore, as a result, there is a problem in that the life of the light emitting element at the most frequently used position is directly the life of the entire light source unit.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and the object of the present invention is to efficiently drive a plurality of light emitting elements to improve the image quality of a projected image and extend the lifetime of all the light emitting elements. It is an object of the present invention to provide a projection apparatus and a projection method that can be realized.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, in a projection apparatus that projects a color image for each color component in a time-sharing manner, a plurality of n groups (n: 2) for each of a plurality of k colors (k: a natural number of 3 or more) forming a color image. A total of k × n groups of colored light-emitting elements, each of which has a colored light-emitting element arranged so as to be mixed and dispersed, and the light source section The colored light-emitting element is divided into a plurality of n groups in units of λ / i in which the time division of the color image projection period λ for each color component is further divided into i (i: a natural number of 2 or more). Drive control that emits light by a pulse width modulation system that cyclically controls on / off with a phase difference synchronized with each period λ / (n × i), and that simultaneously drives at least two of a plurality of k colors. Means.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the drive control unit emits light by a pulse width modulation method in which rated power is supplied to each of the plurality of n groups of colored light emitting elements constituting the light source unit when energized. It is characterized by being driven by adjusting the luminance.
According to a third aspect of the invention, in the first or second aspect of the invention, the colored light emitting element is either a light emitting diode or a laser.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in a projection method for projecting a color image for each color component in a time-sharing manner, a plurality of n groups (n: 2) for each of a plurality of k colors (k: a natural number of 3 or more) forming a color image. A total of k × n groups of colored light-emitting elements having the above-mentioned natural number), the light source section having colored light-emitting elements arranged so that each color and each group of colored light-emitting elements are mixed and dispersed, The colored light-emitting element of each of a plurality of n groups in a unit of λ / i in which the projection period λ of the color image for each color component divided in time is further divided into i (i: a natural number of 2 or more). In addition, the light emission is driven by a pulse width modulation method that cyclically controls on / off with a phase difference synchronized with each period λ / (n × i), and at least two of a plurality of k colors are simultaneously driven to emit light It has a control process.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the drive control step according to the fourth aspect of the present invention is based on a pulse width modulation method in which rated power is supplied to each of a plurality of n groups of colored light-emitting elements constituting the light source unit when energized. It is characterized by being driven by adjusting the light emission luminance.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to efficiently drive a plurality of light emitting elements to improve the image quality of a projected image and extend the lifetime of all the light emitting elements.

1 is a block diagram showing a schematic functional configuration of an electronic circuit of a data projector device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The figure which illustrates the light control content in the light source of the time division drive which concerns on the embodiment. The block diagram which shows schematic function structure of the electronic circuit of the data projector apparatus which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. The figure which illustrates the light control content in the light source of the time division drive which concerns on the embodiment. The figure which illustrates the light control content in the light source of the time division drive which concerns on the embodiment. The figure which illustrates the other light control content with the light source of the time division drive which concerns on the embodiment. The block diagram which shows schematic function structure of the electronic circuit of the data projector apparatus which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. The figure which illustrates the light control content in the light source of the time division drive which concerns on the embodiment. The figure which illustrates the light control content with the light source of a general time division drive. The figure which illustrates the light control content with the light source of a general time division drive.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.
(First embodiment)
A first embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a data projector apparatus will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic functional configuration of an electronic circuit included in the data projector device 10 according to the embodiment.
An input / output connector unit 11 includes, for example, a pin jack (RCA) type video input terminal, a D-sub15 type RGB input terminal, and a USB (Universal Serial Bus) connector.

  Image signals of various standards input from the input / output connector unit 11 are input to an image conversion unit 13 that is also generally referred to as a scaler via an input / output interface (I / F) 12 and a system bus SB. The image conversion unit 13 unifies the input image signal into an image signal of a predetermined format suitable for projection, and appropriately stores it in the video RAM 14 which is a buffer memory for display, and then sends it to the projection image processing unit 15.

  At this time, data such as symbols indicating various operation states for OSD (On Screen Display) is also superimposed on the image signal by the video RAM 14 as necessary, and the processed image signal is sent to the projection image processing unit 15.

  The projection image processing unit 15 multiplies a frame rate according to a predetermined format, for example, 30 [frames / second], the number of color component divisions, and the number of display gradations in accordance with the transmitted image signal. The micromirror element 16, which is a spatial light modulation element (SOM), is driven to display by high-speed time division driving.

  The micromirror element 16 is turned on / off individually at a high speed by tilting angles of a plurality of micromirrors arranged in an array, for example, XGA (horizontal 1024 × vertical 768 dots). Form an image.

  On the other hand, the LED array 17 is configured by regularly arranging a large number of LEDs that emit white light with high luminance, and the light emitted from the LED array 17 is a truncated pyramid-shaped housing 18 in which a reflection mirror is attached to the entire inner surface. After the light is condensed by the integrator 19 and the luminous intensity distribution is made uniform by the integrator 19, the light is colored through the color wheel 20, further totally reflected by the mirror 21, and irradiated onto the micromirror element 16.

  Then, an optical image is formed by the reflected light from the micromirror element 16, and the formed optical image is projected and displayed via a projection lens unit 22 on a screen (not shown) to be projected.

  The LED array 17 emits light by drivingly controlling each LED group divided into a plurality of groups, for example, five groups, by the W driver 23.

  The W driver 23 drives each LED group constituting the LED array 17 to emit light with timing and drive current based on a control signal supplied from the projection light processing unit 24.

  The projection light processing unit 24 controls the light emission timing and drive current to the W driver 23 according to the projection timing signal of the image data given from the projection image processing unit 14.

  Further, the projection light processing unit 24 supplies electric power to a motor (M) 25 that rotates the color wheel 20 and receives a detection signal from a marker 26 that is disposed to face the rotation peripheral end of the color wheel 20. .

  The CPU 27 controls all the operations of the above circuits. The CPU 27 performs control operations in the data projector apparatus 10 using a main memory 28 composed of DRAM and a program memory 29 which is an electrically rewritable nonvolatile memory storing an operation program, various fixed data, and the like. Execute.

  The CPU 27 executes various projection operations according to key operation signals from the operation unit 30. The operation unit 30 includes a key operation unit provided in the main body of the data projector device 10 and a laser light receiving unit that receives infrared light from a remote controller (not shown) dedicated to the data projector device 10. A key operation signal based on the key operated via the controller is directly output to the CPU 27.

  The CPU 27 is further connected to an audio processing unit 31 and a wireless LAN interface (I / F) 32 via the system bus SB.

  The sound processing unit 31 includes a sound source circuit such as a PCM sound source, converts the sound data given during the projection operation into an analog signal, drives the speaker unit 33 to emit a loud sound, or generates a beep sound or the like as necessary.

  The wireless LAN interface 32 transmits / receives data to / from a plurality of external devices including a personal computer through a wireless LAN antenna 34 using, for example, 2.4 [GHz] band radio waves in accordance with the IEEE 802.11g standard.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described.
In the present embodiment, as described above, the LED array 17 is divided into a plurality of groups, for example, five LED groups, and the lighting timing thereof is controlled. In this case, when the LED array 17 is divided into a plurality of LED groups, the LED groups arranged in an array are not neatly divided into five regions that do not overlap with each other, but each adjacent LED belongs to each group. The five LED groups are mixed in as wide a range as possible so that the individual LEDs constituting each LED group are dispersed as much as possible, so that the light emission in each LED group is uniform. Therefore, it is desirable to obtain a light beam with no bias.

  FIG. 2 shows the control content of the light emission luminance of the LED array 17 while the color wheel 20 makes one rotation on the light source optical axis. The color wheel 20 includes, for example, R (red), G (green), and B (blue) primary color filters arranged in a fan shape with a central angle of 120 ° so that the rotation circumference is divided into three parts. By transmitting the white light emitted from 19, any one of R, G, and B is colored (exactly, only the light of the color component passes), and the color image of the color is formed by the micromirror element 16. Let

  FIG. 2A shows the projection timing for each color image as the color wheel 20 rotates, and FIG. 2B shows the light emission luminance at the LED array 17 synchronized with the projection timing. The unit of the color image projection period for each color component is λ (lambda) as shown in the figure.

  In the present embodiment, an example is described in which light control is performed with the number of emitted light so that the luminance is 80% of the rating when the R image is projected, 100% as rated when the G image is projected, and 60% of the rating when the B image is projected.

  FIG. 2C to FIG. 2E show the driving contents of the LED array 17 for each color image. Here, as described above, it is assumed that the LED array 17 includes a total of five LED groups wg1 to wg5.

  In FIG. 2C, pulse width modulation is performed with a predetermined phase difference so that four of the five LED groups wg1 to wg5 always have a rated light emission luminance of 100% so that the luminance is 80% as a whole. Drive with.

Here, the phase difference pd is obtained when the number of LED groups is n and any positive integer is i.
“Pd = λ / (n · i)”
Can be expressed as The integer i is as large as possible within the range that the functions of the projection light processing unit 24 and the W driver 23 allow, and as a result, the five LED groups wg1 to wg5 are more averaged to emit light. It will be.

  In FIG. 2D, all the five LED groups wg1 to wg5 are driven by pulse width modulation with a predetermined phase difference so that the light emission luminance is 100% of the rated value so that the luminance is 100% as a whole. . However, since all the five LED groups wg1 to wg5 are selected to emit light, as a result, all the five LED groups wg1 to wg5 are always lit during the period λ.

  In FIG. 2 (E), pulse width modulation is performed with a predetermined phase difference so that three of the five LED groups wg1 to wg5 always have a rated light emission luminance of 100% so that the luminance is 60% as a whole. Drive with.

  In this way, by setting the phase difference corresponding to the number of LED groups and driving the LED groups to emit light by pulse width modulation, it is sufficient that the LEDs that are lit are always driven with a current of 100% of the rated value. Response speed can be obtained.

  In addition, each LED group is cyclically turned on / off according to the phase difference, and the number of LED groups emitting light at each time point is kept constant. The usage time can be averaged.

  As described above in detail, according to the present embodiment, when a plurality of high-intensity white LEDs are used as the light-emitting elements of the light source, these are efficiently driven to improve the image quality of the projected image and to increase the lifetime of all the light-emitting elements. Can be achieved.

  In the above-described embodiment, the LED array 17 is described as being composed of a plurality of groups, for example, five LED groups. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a plurality of, for example, a minimum of two light-emitting elements. As long as it has an element, it is possible to control similarly, assuming that the luminance can be changed in two steps of 100% and 50%.

(Second Embodiment)
A second embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a data projector apparatus will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic functional configuration of an electronic circuit provided in the data projector device 50 according to the embodiment.
Except for the light source system, the data projector device 50 according to the present embodiment has basically the same configuration as the data projector device 10 shown in FIG. The same reference numerals are added and description thereof is omitted.

  An LED array 51 is used as a light source of the data projector device 50. The LED array 51 is configured by regularly arranging an array so that a large number of LEDs that emit light of each color of RGB are mixed, and light emission by time division for each color component is provided with a reflection mirror on the entire inner surface. The light is collected by the affixed pyramid-shaped housing 18, converted into a luminous flux having a uniform luminance distribution by the integrator 19, then totally reflected by the mirror 21 and irradiated onto the micromirror element 16.

  In the LED array 51, LED groups of corresponding colors are driven and controlled by an R driver 52, a G driver 53, and a B driver 54, and light is emitted in RGB primary colors.

  The R driver 52, the G driver 53, and the B driver 54 drive the LED groups of individual color components constituting the LED array 51 with timing and drive current based on the control signal from the projection light processing unit 55.

  The projection light processing unit 55 controls the light emission timing and driving current by the R driver 52, G driver 53, and B driver 54 according to the image data given from the projection image processing unit 14.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described.
In the present embodiment, as described above, the LED array 51 is divided into a plurality of groups, for example, five LED groups for each color component, and the lighting timing thereof is controlled. In this case, when the LED array 51 is divided into a plurality of LED groups for each of the R, G, and B colors, the LED groups arranged in an array are not neatly divided into five regions that do not overlap each other. Arrange so that the individual LEDs constituting each LED group are dispersed as much as possible so that five LED groups are mixed in as wide a range as possible so that even groups of LEDs of the same color are adjacent to each other. It is desirable to obtain light emitted from each LED group as a uniform and unbiased light beam.

  FIG. 4 shows the control content of the light emission luminance of the LED array 51 during projection of a color image for one frame. 4A shows the display timing of the R image, G image, and B image formed by the micromirror element 16, and FIG. 4B shows the emission luminance of the R-LED group synchronized with the timing. Similarly, FIG. 4C shows the light emission luminance of the G-LED group, and FIG. 4D shows the light emission luminance of the B-LED group.

  As shown in the figure, for example, during the R image projection period, the R-LED group is driven to emit light at 100% luminance, and at the same time, the G-LED group is 60% and the B-LED group is 20%. Are also driven to emit light.

  This is because when the R-LED group constituting the LED array 51 as a product cannot emit light of “red” which is an ideal wavelength band characteristic, the G-LED group and the B-LED group The color rendering is further improved by simultaneously performing light emission driving limited in consideration of the wavelength band characteristics.

  Similarly, during the G image projection period, the G-LED group is driven to emit light with a luminance of 100%, and at the same time, the R-LED group has a luminance of 40% and the B-LED group has a luminance of 20%. Driven by light emission.

  Originally, during the B image projection period, the B-LED group is driven to emit light with 100% luminance, and at the same time, the G-LED group is also driven to emit light with 20% luminance.

  FIG. 5 exemplifies the control content related to the specific light emission driving of the G-LED group constituting the LED array 51 described with reference to FIG. The basic concept is the same for the R-LED group and the B-LED group constituting the LED array 51.

  Corresponding to the projection periods of the R, G, and B images in FIG. 5A, the G-LED group circulates so that the luminance is 60%, 100%, and 20% as shown in FIG. The light emission luminance is driven and controlled. The unit of the color image projection period for each color component is λ (lambda) as shown in the figure.

  FIG. 5C to FIG. 5E show the driving contents of the G-LED group driven by the G driver 53 for each color image. Here, it is assumed that the G-LED group includes a total of five LED groups gg1 to gg5.

  In FIG. 5C, in order to obtain a luminance of 60% as a whole, pulse width modulation is performed with a predetermined phase difference so that three of the five LED groups gg1 to gg5 always have a rated light emission luminance of 100%. Drive with.

Here, the phase difference pd is obtained when the number of LED groups is n and any positive integer is i.
“Pd = λ / (n · i)”
Can be expressed as The integer i is within the range that the functions of the projection light processing unit 55 and the G driver 53 (same for the R driver 52 and B driver 54) can use, and as a result, five LEDs are obtained. The groups gg1 to gg5 are further averaged to emit light.

  In FIG. 5D, all of the five LED groups gg1 to gg5 are driven by pulse width modulation with a predetermined phase difference so that the light emission luminance is 100% of the rated value so that the luminance is 100% as a whole. . However, since all the five LED groups gg1 to gg5 are selected to emit light, all the five LED groups gg1 to gg5 are always lit during the period λ.

  In FIG. 5E, the pulse width modulation is performed with a predetermined phase difference so that one of the five LED groups gg1 to gg5 always has the rated light emission luminance of 100% so that the luminance is 20% as a whole. Drive with.

  In this way, by setting the phase difference corresponding to the number of LED groups and driving the LED groups to emit light by pulse width modulation, it is sufficient that the LEDs that are lit are always driven with a current of 100% of the rated value. Response speed can be obtained.

  In addition, each LED group is cyclically turned on / off according to the phase difference, and the number of LED groups emitting light at each time point is kept constant. The usage time can be averaged.

  Next, another operation example of the above embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

  In this operation example, the LED array 51 is divided into a plurality of groups, for example, five LED groups for each color component, and the lighting timing is controlled. In this case, when the LED array 51 is divided into a plurality of LED groups for each of the R, G, and B colors, the LED groups arranged in an array are not neatly divided into five regions that do not overlap each other. Arrange so that the individual LEDs constituting each LED group are dispersed as much as possible so that five LED groups are mixed in as wide a range as possible so that even groups of LEDs of the same color are adjacent to each other. It is desirable to obtain light emitted from each LED group as a uniform and unbiased light beam.

  FIG. 6 mainly shows the light emission luminance of the G-LED group in the LED array 51 during projection of a color image for one frame. It is assumed that the emission luminance ratios of the G-LED group, the R-LED group, and the B-LED group are the same as those shown in FIG. That is, in the G-LED group, the projection light processing is performed so that the emission luminance is 60%, 100%, and 20% in synchronization with the display timing of the R image, the G image, and the B image formed by the micromirror element 16. It is assumed that light emission is driven by the unit 55 and the G driver 53.

  When displaying a color image for one frame, the whole is divided into nine field periods, and the R, G, B projection periods are arranged in a three-cycle manner, and the same R, G, B Assume that an image is projected three times repeatedly.

  Corresponding to the projection period of each of the R, G, and B images in FIG. 6A, the G-LED group circulates to have a luminance of 60%, 100%, and 20% as shown in FIG. 6B. The light emission luminance is driven and controlled. The unit of the color image projection period for each color component is λ (lambda) / 3 as shown in the figure.

  FIGS. 6C to 6E show the driving contents of the G-LED group driven by the G driver 53 every three R images during projection of a color image of one frame. Here, it is assumed that the G-LED group includes a total of five LED groups gg1 to gg5.

  In FIG. 6C, three of the five LED groups gg1 to gg5, particularly the first to third LED groups gg1 to gg3, are set to have a luminance of 60% in the first R image projection period R1. Is driven for the period of λ / 3 so that the light emission luminance is always 100% of the rated luminance.

  In FIG. 6D, three of the five LED groups gg1 to gg5, in particular, the first, second, and fifth LEDs, are set to have a luminance of 60% even in the second R image projection period R2. The groups gg1, gg2, and gg5 are driven for the period of λ / 3 so that the luminous intensity is always 100% of the rated luminance.

  In FIG. 6E, three of the five LED groups gg1 to gg5, in particular, the first, fourth, and fifth LEDs, are set to have a luminance of 60% even in the third R image projection period R3. The groups gg1, gg4, and gg5 are driven for the period of λ / 3 so that the light emission luminance is always 100% of the rated luminance.

  In this way, the original R image projection period is further divided into three parts, and the light emission drive is sequentially switched among the five LED groups gg1 to gg5, thereby averaging the light emission times of the LED groups gg1 to gg5. .

  As described above, by driving the light emission while sequentially selecting each LED group according to the required light emission luminance, the LED to be lit is always driven with a current of 100% of its rated value, so that a sufficient response speed can be obtained. Can do.

  In addition, each LED group is synchronized with a divided period obtained by dividing each light emission period unit of the R driver 52, the G driver 53, and the B driver 54 into m equal parts (m: a natural number of 2 or more), in this embodiment. Since light emission is driven while switching the light emission position, the light emission time is not biased for each LED group, and the usage time can be averaged.

  In particular, in the above-described embodiment, for example, a plurality of color light sources for forming a color image are required for each color component so that not only R color but also G color and B color are driven to emit light at the same time during the R image projection period. Since the plurality of colors are driven to emit light at the same time by controlling the brightness, color rendering can be further improved.

(Third embodiment)
Hereinafter, a third embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a data projector apparatus will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a schematic functional configuration of an electronic circuit included in the data projector device 70 according to the embodiment.
Except for the light source system, the data projector device 70 according to the present embodiment has basically the same configuration as the data projector device 10 shown in FIG. The same reference numerals are added and description thereof is omitted.

  A semiconductor laser array 71 is used as a light source of the data projector device 70. The semiconductor laser array 71 is configured by arraying a plurality of, for example, five semiconductor lasers that oscillate at B (blue). This figure shows a simplified configuration when the semiconductor laser array 71 is viewed from the side. When viewed from the front, an array of five semiconductor lasers in close contact with each other can be formed by arranging four semiconductor lasers at equal distances on the top, bottom, left, and right of one semiconductor laser.

  A plurality of monochromatic laser beams oscillated by the semiconductor laser array 71 are appropriately colored through a rotating fluorescent color wheel 72, converted into a luminous flux having a uniform luminance distribution by an integrator 73, and condensed by a light source side lens system 74. Later, the light is totally reflected by the mirror 21 and irradiated to the micromirror element 16.

  The fluorescent color wheel 72 has a total of three fan-shaped colors, for example, a transparent filter made of uncolored diffusion glass, an R fluorescent filter coated with an R phosphor, and a G fluorescent filter coated with a G phosphor. A filter is configured to divide the circumference on the disk. When the fluorescent color wheel 72 is rotated by driving the motor 25, a plurality of blue laser beams from the semiconductor laser array 71 are irradiated to a plurality of points on the circumference of the fluorescent color wheel 72.

  The transparent filter transmits blue laser light while diffusing. The R fluorescent filter excites R-color fluorescence by irradiation with blue laser light and emits it while diffusing from a surface opposite to the incident surface. Similarly, the G fluorescent filter excites G-color fluorescence by irradiation with blue laser light and emits it while diffusing from the surface opposite to the incident surface.

  In this way, the RGB primary color light is emitted in a time-sharing manner by the rotation of the fluorescent color wheel 72 and is irradiated onto the micromirror element 16 through the integrator 73, the light source side lens system 74, and the mirror 21.

  The semiconductor laser array 71 is individually driven to oscillate by a laser driver 75. The laser driver 75 drives individual semiconductor lasers constituting the semiconductor laser array 71 with timing and drive current based on a control signal from the projection light processing unit 76.

  The projection light processing unit 76 controls the light emission timing and the drive current by the laser driver 75 according to the image data given from the projection image processing unit 14, as well as the motor (M) 77 that rotates the fluorescent color wheel 72. In addition to supplying electric power, a detection signal is received from a marker 78 arranged for synchronous detection so as to face the rotation peripheral end of the fluorescent color wheel 72.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described.
In the present embodiment, the lighting timing of the semiconductor laser array 71 is controlled as described above.

  FIG. 8 shows the control contents of the emission luminance of the entire semiconductor laser array 71 while the fluorescent color wheel 72 makes one rotation on the light source optical axis. As described above, the fluorescent color wheel 72 has an R (red) fluorescent filter, a G (green) fluorescent filter, and a B (blue) transparent diffusion filter, each having a central angle of 120 so that the rotation circumference is divided into three. By irradiating blue laser light output from the semiconductor laser array 71, red light and green light as phosphor excitation light and blue light as transmitted light are scattered in a time-sharing manner. The micromirror element 16 forms a color image of the color.

  FIG. 8A shows the projection timing for each color image according to the rotation of the fluorescent color wheel 72, and FIG. 8B shows the emission luminance of the semiconductor laser array 71 synchronized with the projection timing. The unit of the color image projection period for each color component is λ (lambda) as shown in the figure.

  In the present embodiment, an example is described in which light control is performed with the number of emitted light so that the luminance is 80% of the rating when the R image is projected, 100% as rated when the G image is projected, and 60% of the rating when the B image is projected.

  FIGS. 8C to 8E show the driving contents of the semiconductor laser array 71 for each color image. Here, it is assumed that the semiconductor laser array 71 is composed of a total of five semiconductor lasers LD1 to LD5 as described above.

  In FIG. 8C, in order to obtain a luminance of 80% as a whole, pulse width modulation is performed with a predetermined phase difference so that four of the five semiconductor lasers LD1 to LD5 always have the rated luminance of 100%. Drive with.

Here, the phase difference pd is “pd = λ / (n · i)” where n is the number of semiconductor lasers and i is an arbitrary positive integer.
Can be expressed as The integer i is as large as possible within the range that the functions of the projection light processing unit 76 and the laser driver 75 allow, and as a result, the five semiconductor lasers LD1 to LD5 are more averaged to emit light. It will be.

  In FIG. 8D, all of the five semiconductor lasers LD1 to LD5 are driven by pulse width modulation with a predetermined phase difference so as to obtain 100% of the rated emission luminance so that the luminance is 100% as a whole. . However, since all the five semiconductor lasers LD1 to LD5 are selected to emit light, as a result, all the five semiconductor lasers LD1 to LD5 are always lit during the period λ.

  In FIG. 8E, pulse width modulation with a predetermined phase difference is performed so that three of the five semiconductor lasers LD1 to LD5 always have the rated luminance of 100% so that the luminance is 60% as a whole. Drive with.

  In this way, by setting the phase difference corresponding to the number of semiconductor lasers and driving the semiconductor lasers to emit light by pulse width modulation, the semiconductor lasers that are lit are always driven with a current that is 100% of their rating. Sufficient response speed can be obtained.

  In addition, each of the semiconductor lasers LD1 to LD5 is cyclically turned on / off according to the phase difference, and the number of semiconductor lasers emitting light at each time point is kept constant, so that each semiconductor laser emits light. Time is not biased, and usage time can be averaged.

  As described above in detail, according to the present embodiment, when a plurality of semiconductor lasers are used as the light emitting elements of the light source, these are efficiently driven to improve the image quality of the projected image and extend the lifetime of all the light emitting elements. Can be achieved.

  In addition, even when the emission brightness varies due to individual differences among the plurality of semiconductor lasers, the above-described driving method is used to absorb the individual differences and make the brightness uniform, thereby maintaining the quality of the projected image constant. be able to.

  In the third embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a semiconductor laser has been described. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and can be similarly applied to lasers such as SHG (Second Harmonic Generation) lasers and gas lasers. Become.

  In each of the first to third embodiments, the case where the present invention is applied to the data projector apparatus has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to these, and a plurality of light emitting elements such as an LED and a semiconductor laser are used. The present invention can be similarly applied to a light source device using a light emitting element or a projection device such as a rear project type television receiver using the light source device.

  In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. Further, the functions executed in the above-described embodiments may be combined as appropriate as possible. The above-described embodiment includes various stages, and various inventions can be extracted by an appropriate combination of a plurality of disclosed constituent elements. For example, even if some constituent requirements are deleted from all the constituent requirements shown in the embodiment, if the effect is obtained, a configuration from which the constituent requirements are deleted can be extracted as an invention.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Data projector apparatus, 11 ... Input / output connector part, 12 ... Input / output interface (I / F), 13 ... Image conversion part, 14 ... Video RAM, 15 ... Projection image processing part, 16 ... Micromirror element (SOM) 17 ... LED array, 18 ... housing, 19 ... integrator, 20 ... color wheel, 21 ... mirror, 22 ... projection lens unit, 23 ... W driver, 24 ... projection light processing unit, 25 ... motor (M), 26 ... Marker, 27 ... CPU, 28 ... main memory, 29 ... program memory, 30 ... operation unit, 31 ... audio processing unit, 32 ... wireless LAN interface (I / F), 33 ... speaker unit, 34 ... wireless LAN antenna 50 ... Data projector device 51 ... LED array 52 ... R driver 53 ... G driver 54 ... B driver 55 Projection light processing unit 71 ... Semiconductor laser array 72 ... Fluorescent color wheel 73 ... Integrator 74 ... Light source side lens system 75 ... Laser driver 76 ... Projection light processing unit 77 ... Motor 78 ... Marker SB ... System bus.

Claims (5)

In a projection apparatus that performs time-division projection of a color image for each color component,
A plurality of n groups (n: a natural number of 2 or more) for a plurality of k colors (k: a natural number of 3 or more) forming a color image, and a total of k × n colored light emitting elements, each color and colored light emission of each group A light source unit having colored light-emitting elements arranged so that the elements are mixed and dispersed;
The colored light emitting element of the light source unit includes a plurality of n groups in units of λ / i in which the projection period λ of the color image for each color component divided in time is further divided into i (i: a natural number of 2 or more). For each group, light emission is driven by a pulse width modulation method that cyclically controls on / off with a phase difference synchronized with the period λ / (n × i), and at least two of a plurality of k colors are simultaneously emitted. A projection apparatus comprising drive control means for driving.   2. The drive control means adjusts the light emission luminance by a pulse width modulation method in which each of a plurality of n groups of colored light-emitting elements constituting the light source unit has a rated power when energized, and is driven. Projection device.   The projection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the colored light emitting element is either a light emitting diode or a laser. In the projection method of performing color image projection for each color component in a time-sharing manner,
A plurality of n groups (n: a natural number of 2 or more) for a plurality of k colors (k: a natural number of 3 or more) forming a color image, and a total of k × n colored light emitting elements, each color and colored light emission of each group A light source unit having colored light emitting elements arranged so that the elements are mixed and dispersed;
The colored light emitting element of the light source unit includes a plurality of n groups in units of λ / i in which the projection period λ of the color image for each color component divided in time is further divided into i (i: a natural number of 2 or more). For each group, light emission is driven by a pulse width modulation method that cyclically controls on / off with a phase difference synchronized with the period λ / (n × i), and at least two of a plurality of k colors are simultaneously emitted. A projection method comprising a drive control step of driving.   5. The drive control step of adjusting and driving light emission luminance by a pulse width modulation system that uses a rated power when energized for each of a plurality of n groups of colored light-emitting elements constituting the light source unit. Projection method.

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